new growth often takes time to green up completely ...

if it doesnt.. its usually a light issue.. tell us about how you provide light ...

show us the whole plant ...

soil mites is a bit vague.. can you add anything to that info ...

and you may as well tell us how you water.. fert ... and etc ... you havent given us much info to work with ..

ken

Hi Ken,

Thanks for replying, sorry for the minimal info.

I live in Toronto Canada, the days have been getting shorter, so it is harder to provide the same amount of direct sunlight. I purchased a growing light and turn it on for 6 hours every day with maybe 2-3 hours of natural sunlight in the afternoon - I don't have any south facing windows. I water it every 10 days with a PH down diluted in the water because I've noticed that the PH turns basic very quickly in between waterings (I use a PH/soil gauge - not sure how accurate this is).

I purchased the plant in August and have fertilized it twice since owning it once in Sept and again 7 weeks later. Within the first few months of owning it, the new growth looked healthy, smooth and very dark green. The rate of new growth has been consistent, however, within the last couple weeks, I've noticed that the new baby leaves have a harsh 90 degree angle just at the tips that point downwards (you can see this clearly in the second photo). The new leaves are bright green with wrinkles and some are distorted? Also the leaf that looks cut was already cut when I first received the plant.

Last week, when I watered the plant, I noticed these incredibly tiny white spiders emerge from the soil. At first I thought they were spider mites because they looked like little spiders. But when I checked out the leaves, and cleaned them, I didn't find a single small bug on the actual plant. Just saw them in the soil. So I assume soil mites? Should I get rid of them? How?

Or if there is another issue happening that is causing the distorted new leaves with the harsh pointed tips?

Hooked and malformed leaves are classic symptoms of a Ca deficiency, and more often than not it is a culturally induced deficiency. IOW, there might be an adequate amount of Ca in the grow medium, but cultural conditions are preventing the plant from taking up enough Ca.

Because Ca is essentially immobile in the plant. Once it is deposited within cells, it stays there, unlike the mobile nutrients N, P, K, Mg, which can be "recycled". That is to say they can be reclaimed from older and less efficient leaves and used to fuel the growth of new leaves or other organs. Because Ca is considered to be immobile, and it is an essential part of normally formed cell walls and the glue that holds cells together, calcium pectate, it must be in the nutrient/ transpiration stream at all times in order for cells to form normally. First symptoms are usually death of root meristems; in foliage, first visual evidence is commonly hooked leaf tips, malformed leaves, and in some plants, chlorotic leaf margins, followed by bright green veins (compared to the lighter coloring of new leaves) and necrotic spotting just inside of leaf margins which expand to include the entire leaf.

Because the malady and symptoms are so common, I'd guess the probability that the underlying issue is a Ca deficiency at 90-95%. Unfortunately, a Ca deficiency can be like a house of cards, causing any of several other nutrients to become deficient or unavailable (due to root damage) and open the door to insect herbivory and disease via root, shoot, and stem pathways. The question is what is causing the deficiency. My first guess is the pH down you're using. Low pH can very quickly exhaust the a planting's store of Ca. Second guess and possibly an accomplice of the pH down would be over-watering and the reduction in the oxygen supply required for normal root function. High humidity, cool temps, dreary days can all slow the nutrient/ transpiration stream which further reduces the amount of Ca reaching plant growth points.

My suggestion would be to A) stop trusting the pH gadget you have, B) start monitoring moisture levels at the bottom of the pot with a homemade wooden tell (more below re use of a "tell"), C) start watering as needed (as indicated by the tell) and make sure you flush the soil when you do water, and D) get started on a nutritional supplementation program using an appropriate fertilizer like Foliage-Pro 9-3-6. I grow at least 100 different species of trees in containers and I use it for all of them. It's a very good product, and there's not much out there to compete with it. Following the outline I laid out will work whether the deficiency is a deficiency caused by an inadequate amount of Ca in the soil, or a culturally caused deficiency preventing uptake of enough Ca to support normal growth.

Please ask if you have questions or need anything clarified.

Al

Citrus leaves can develop differently in different light situations. Low-light situations will cause very large leaves that can sometimes droop a bit. Can you tell us what environmental changes have occurred in the last couple months or so? Did you recently move it inside? Have you repotted it? I honestly don't see anything wrong with your plant.

I live in Canada, so the days are getting shorter.. as a result, there is less direct sunlight for the plant but it is under the grow light longer now in the afternoons and evenings. & The plant is getting worse :( the mature leave tips are browning and a few of the lower leaves have fallen off. i think Tapla may be right with calcium deficiency but it is getting worse and not better. I’ve stopped using the PH down, I water using the tell, i bought a humidifer for the plant cause i thought maybe the air was too dry but its not happy!!

Hi Al,

Thanks so much for the information! I read your article and it was extremely interesting and i definitely learned a lot from it. I purchased the Foliage pro 9-3-6 that you recommended and i will be using it today.

Questions about the type of soil now, I currently have my lemon tree in cactus and succulent soil... but i read in your article that soils with small particles are more water retentive than soils that are high in pine bark %... what type of soil would you reccomend for a citrus tree? over the course of having this tree for a few months, I noticed that if I flushed the soil, then it would stay wet for a long time and i would have to wait 14+ days to water again due to this ”perched water” as you mention, sitting at the bottom. I also noticed the soil would begin to have a crust-like appearance and texture on the topsoil and ive repot the plant TWICE since having it, and both times the soil was extemely compact and moist especially near the smaller hair roots at the bottom, which would break from me trying to gently get the plant out! :(

The second time I repotted, I added pebbles at the bottom of the pot before putting the cactus soil on top, and I have one drainage hole in the clay pot im using...

so i guess my question is what kind of soil do you recommend for this tricky & picky plant? should i switch to something that can create more air pockets? do you have a brand name in mind? Thanks!

Hi Nicole —

I'm pretty sure that Al would recommend one of the two soil porous mixes he often mentions here: the gritty mix (most porous/free-draining) or the 5-1-1 mix (slightly more moisture-retentive). Unfortunately, there aren't many great commercially available options, so most who use these or similar mixes make our own.

I happen to live in Toronto, too, and am also overwintering a meyer lemon indoors this year, so I'm happy to share what's worked for me (and where I sourced my ingredients).

But it'd be good for Al to weigh in on whether he thinks it'd be wise to repot now or wait until warmer months. (Generally December is not a good time to repot in our climate unless it's an emergency – Al might recommend triaging the plant for now and doing a repot only in late May when the plant is more resilient).